Paper Cranes
by Anime Ayumu
Summary: Nunally and Sayoko have a heartfelt conversation about flying and the value of living. One-shot. My first fic for CG. don't judge me.


A/N: *peace sign* Hey Friends~! So, this is my first fic for Code Geass which is probably a disgrace, considering how much I love the anime. Anywho, i've been quite obsessed with it lately, and have been wanting to write a story for it for a while, but sadly had no inspiration. Until Now! So this is a little one-shot that came out of nowhere and the majority of it was written during my study hall period, so it was created in the time span of about 40 minutes. So, if you don't like it, sorry. If you do, GREAT! Either way, i hope you enjoy!

Dedicated to: Happy Carmel (this one's for you!)

Inspiration: my history class (who knew?)

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><p>Paper Cranes<p>

"I wonder what it would be like to fly."

Lelouch looked up at from the papers he was organizing for the Prez. She really had been piling on the work lately. The boy gave a quizzical look. The receiver of the look was a young girl sitting across from him. She sat in a rather high-tech wheelchair and wore a pink middle school uniform. Light auburn hair cascaded from her head and spilled out behind her back. In her hands, she cradled a small paper crane that was a light blue color. Even though her eyes where closed, she could sense the confusion in her brother's voice.

"What are you talking about, Nunally?" he asked in the gentle voice he always used with her. "You know what it's like to fly. I mean, we've been on an airplane, haven't we?"

Nunally shook her head. "Yes. But that's not the kind of flying I mean."

The former prince put his pen down and picked up the small china teacup to take a sip. "Well, what do you mean?"

"Like the kind of flying where it's all you. No machines, no heavy wings weighing you down. Just spreading your arms and soaring through the sky." Her thumb ran up and down what felt like to her to be the crane's wing. "Just to be free…"

_Freedom. Nunally feels it too, even if she doesn't know it. _Lelouch thought. To be honest, Lelouch felt trapped. Don't get him wrong, he was grateful that the Ashfords where kind enough to let him and Nunally stay there with them, however either way he still felt trapped. He was a prisoner of the Ashford family, and of the Kururugi family before that. Lelouch learned that Nunally felt the same way he did. However, she didn't quite understand the meaning of those feelings.

"Miss Nunally," Sayoko's voice cut through the silence that had dawned on the two. "It's time. That is, if you would like to today."

Nunally nodded. "Oh yes, of course!" After carefully placing the crane in her lap, the girl moved the joystick on one of the arms of the wheelchair to turn away from the dining table and towards the maid. Sayoko walked behind her and put her hands on the handles.

"Please," she said politely. "Allow me." Sayoko began to push her out of the room.

"We'll be back soon, Lelouch!" Nunally called out as she wheeled away. Lelouch smiled.

"Okay, I'll be here Nunally. And don't let her go too far, Sayoko!" Every other evening, Sayoko would take Nunally out of their reserved home and let her…"watch" the sunset. Their location would change almost every time. This time, it was the highest hill in the clearest field of the entire campus. It was only a few hundred yards from the Student Council Clubhouse. Sayoko stood next to Nunally. The younger had a content smile on her face. Even though she couldn't see the vibrant colors and beautiful scenery the sight had to offer, she could feel the warm glow on her face and body. In some ways, that was all she needed to know that everything was going to be alright.

"Sayoko?" Nunally turned her head up to face the woman.

"Yes, Miss Nunally?"

"What do you think it would be like to fly?" Unknown to Sayoko, the girl had asked this question for the second time in ten minutes.

Sayoko cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean just to be able to glide up into the air without a worry in the world. You would be able to leap, jump and spin in the air! It would feel like you were weightless!" The more she talked, the more excited the girl became.

Sayoko laughed a bit. "Yes, I think that does sound awfully fun. You could spin with the sun,"

"Pirouette on the clouds!"

"Glide on the wind,"

"Or race on the jet-stream!" At this, the two erupted into peels of laughter and giggles.

"You could make a very beautiful dance performance in the sky, couldn't you?" Sayoko asked. Nunally nodded.

She sighed as she leaned back in her chair and picked up the paper crane that had been sitting in her lap. "Sometimes," she began. "I wish that I could just fly up to the highest point in the sky. Maybe even higher!"

"Why is that, Miss Nunally?"

"Because the highest point in the sky means that it's the closest point to heaven, right? I feel this way when I miss my mother." Sayoko felt sympathy for the crippled child. "If that is the closest I can get to my mother without actually dying, then that's okay. Because then I know that my true place is here, on Earth, and that I'll just have to wait my turn until I can see Mother again." Such wisdom at such a young age. Sayoko was always so surprised at both Lelouch's and Nunally's maturity and understanding. It was amazing. Yet…the things they had to go through to become the way they were now…no child should ever have to endure.

"That's a very wise point, Miss Nunally," Sayoko commented. "You don't seem like the type who would die for such a selfish reason."

"Oh no!" Nunally sat up, dropping the paper crane into her lap again. "I could never do that to Lelouch! He loves me so dearly, and I love him! Now _him _I would die for. Big Brother always does so much for me. If I had to give up my life for him one day, then I would!"

Sayoko shook her head. "You shouldn't think like that."

"Huh?"

"It's great that you love your brother that much to do something like that, but you shouldn't think of life as a bargaining tool. If you did die, then that would be the end of it. Whereas if you lived, then your love for Lelouch could continue to grow stronger, as his would for you."

Nunally slumped back into her chair, defeated. But Sayoko did have a point, after all, if Lelouch died, then Nunally would have no idea what to do with herself! Maybe then she'd kill herself. That way, her mother and Lelouch and her could all be a family again! But, then again, how could she do something so selfish? And what about her friends? The Student Council members? They would be devastated!

"I guess you're right, Sayoko…After all," Nunally picked up the paper crane that had fallen out of her hands and brought it close to her face. "I _do_ love my Big Brother…" And just as the sun was about to disappear behind the horizon, Nunally brought the little bird's beak to her cheek to make it "kiss" her. With the orange glow radiating her shadow, the light illuminated her figure and made the scene look absolutely perfect.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

The evening passed, and Nunally and Sayoko soon returned to the house. They came back to the small dining room they had left and Lelouch was still there, just as he said he would be.

"Hi, Lelouch! We're—" she stopped short when Sayoko placed a hand on her shoulder to signal her to stop.

"Shhh," she whispered. Nunally listened. She heard faint breathing. It was soft and rhythmic. Lelouch had fallen asleep. His head was turned onto one cheek and his mouth was slightly open. His cheek was laying on his arms that covered the papers that were shrewn about the table. A small pen sat lightly between his fingers.

Nunally felt a small smile tug at her lips. _Oh, Big Brother. _she thought as she wheeled herself in the direction she heard the breathing coming from. _You shouldn't push yourself so hard, you know._ Sayoko had brought a blanket and draped it over the young master's shoulders. Nunally lifted her hand and began to slowly stroke Lelouch's hair. _But don't worry, I'll ask Milly to go easy on you for a while, okay? _The girl felt Lelouch move his head a little, but she didn't stop. It wasn't a sign for her to stop; it was one for her to keep going. And she did.

"Miss Nunally?"

"Yes, Sayoko?"

"I've drawn the bath for you. If you'll just come with me now."

"Okay." Nunally nodded and pulled her hand back. Before she left, she leaned towards Lelouch and gave him a tender kiss on the head. Then Sayoko gently rolled her away.

And so Lelouch was left sleeping all of his work away at the dining table. Papers, pen, blanket and still in his school uniform. However, one thing was there that hadn't been there before. A paper crane.

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><p>AN: Well? Didja like it? Didja hate it? I'm not very good with deep messages and emotions I'm afriad. But tell me what you think anyway! Even if you didn't like it, humor me by reviewing. and tell me how I can make stuff like this better. Well, that's all for now, peeps. so PEACE! X3


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